Written by Patrick Wells   

I always felt very sorry for my mother because she was not really equipped to deal with her life. She was not only very insecure when she married my father, but she was also a rich spoiled debutante from Lake Forest, Illinois, who did not even know how to cook.
My father, who was certainly bisexual, was probably gay. His first cousin, who was also gay, moved to Los Angeles, so he could come out of the closet. My father did not dare to go public in Minnesota about being homosexual or bisexual in the early 1940s, so he married my mother, who may not have known he was gay then. They were both seeing therapists in the early years of their marriage because of those major problems. My father was so confused about his sexuality that he actually once had gangrene in his testicles. My father designed dresses and went into Women’s High Fashion. He was on the Cover of Women’s Wear Daily four times and was the first non-Dayton President of Dayton’s Department Store.
Because she had Rheumatic Fever as a child, my mother had her mitral valve replaced in the 1960s. She also had major heart problems because she was a long time smoker. In 1982, my mother had been sick on and off again for several years with a failing heart. When she went into the hospital this time, the doctors said that she might not be coming home. She was 72 then; I am 72 now.
My wife, Linda, and I sat with her that last night at the hospital. As she was not conscious, we left before midnight. But we did not believe her death was imminent, so we went right to bed. Two hours later Linda woke me up. She said that my mother had died and was “here” to say goodbye to us. She also smelled roses. I told her that my mother had grown award-winning roses and she was deeply involved in the Garden Club of America! As we had just been married for three years, I did not really believe her at first, as I saw nothing at all. But 10 minutes later, the hospital called to tell me that my mother had died 10 minutes ago! From that moment on, I was a true believer in Life after Death and the Near-Death-Experience.